Become a mother in a night

Chapter 48

Initially, Brandon Su's editor was not "fafa". When Brandon first joined ScribeSphere, the website arranged for him to work under the editorial head, Victor Hale. However, only a few days passed, Brandon chose to switch to fafa's team.
At that time, Brandon visited the company to hand in his copyright documents. Upon seeing the lady editor known as the face of ScribeSphere, he did not hesitate to leave Victor, the rugged man, and immediately joined fafa's side.
Due to a shortage of staff, Victor Hale, also doubling up as the Chief of Operations, was about to switch roles. He planned to distribute his authors to other editors soon, including Brandon. Technically, Lulu, having seniority next to Victor in the editing department, should have been chosen for Brandon. Yet, Brandon proactively picked fafa.
An editor's commission is tied to the subscription numbers of the articles written by their authors. Brandon, being a pillar of ScribeSphere, naturally had impressive subscription numbers.
Seeing all that money flying into fafa's pocket, Lulu became furious. She sabotaged fafa many times, snatching many advertisement spots, leaderboard positions, and even authors from her.
Later, Lulu tried to poach Brandon too. However, there were some unspeakable ties between Brandon and fafa, preventing Lulu from succeeding. This made her despise fafa even more.
Back then, fafa was known by her real name, Alyssa. She wasn't someone to be easily bullied. If Lulu took something from her, she'd take it back. If she couldn't, she'd go cry to Brandon, playing the innocent victim. At that time, Brandon and Alyssa had a brief fling, so he would naturally try to help her.
Lulu didn't gain much from Alyssa's antics.
Things shifted when Brandon started dating another internet celebrity. After Lulu was promoted to deputy head of the editorial department, she started having the upper hand and often oppressed Alyssa.
This bullying became one of the main reasons Alyssa resigned.
If Brandon had updated his content consistently, Alyssa might have tolerated it for the sake of the high commission. But when Brandon took breaks and didn't post new content, her income dropped to a basic salary. She promptly decided to resign.
Now, hearing about Lulu's treatment of Michelle Xia and recalling past events, Alyssa couldn't help but get agitated.
Old grudges combined with new, she couldn't stand to see Michelle bullied by Lulu.
Alyssa messaged Michelle: "Don't worry. I'll talk to Damien. He'll help you out."
Damien was the current head of the editorial department. The private email Alyssa had provided to Michelle was actually Damien's.
By rights, since Damien had recruited Michelle, he should have been the one guiding her. So how did she end up under Lulu?
Alyssa inquired, and even Damien was puzzled.
Damien replied, "I'm not sure. I heard it was a top-level decision."
Damien added, "They probably thought that since I have Brandon, they were worried I'd be overwhelmed."
Alyssa remarked, "Thank goodness Brandon didn't end up under that woman."
Damien said, "Speaking of which, Brandon updated some content recently and asked about you."
Alyssa retorted, "...Why didn't you ask him why he pretended to be dead to the world back then?"
Just thinking about it angered Alyssa.
Alyssa continued, "Forget about him for now. Damien, please keep an eye on that woman. Make sure she doesn't bully Michelle."
Damien responded, "I'll try my best, but you know how it is. Michelle's under her, and there's only so much I can interfere with."
Alyssa understood. Having been in that position before, she knew all too well how editors operated.
She thought, "Surely Michelle isn't that unlucky, having used up all her luck on the contract signing, right?"
Michelle Xia was completely unaware of the grudge between fafa and Lulu. After confirming Lulu was hinting at her, Michelle pondered if she couldn't beat them, perhaps the best strategy was to join them.
Michelle believed there was no reason to lock horns with her editor. Back then, fafa had shared numerous alarming examples with her, and she had braced herself accordingly.
With this in mind, Michelle organized the outline of her story and sent it to her editor for review.
The editor, always swamped with work, took two full days to respond. The feedback was far from encouraging—dismissing her story as worthless and advising her to start over.
Michelle felt a mix of emotions. She had confidence in her ability to craft a plot. After all, the editors at ScribeSphere shouldn't have much say over the outlines of signed authors. Their primary concern was to ensure there weren't any sensitive topics included.
It was evident that editor Lulu harbored immense ill will toward Michelle. It felt as if the malice would spill out of the computer screen.
Michelle found it puzzling. Why did this new editor harbor such strong resentment against her? Was it merely because she was transferred from another editor's guidance? She considered seeking fafa's insight on whether there might be more alarming tales she hadn't been made aware of.
In her mind, Michelle resolved, "I need to get a clearer picture."
Upon seeing the chat logs Michelle shared, Alyssa was taken aback by Lulu's comments.
Alyssa mused, "Can't she see that Michelle has potential on par with Brandon Su?"
No wonder after Victor Hale's promotion, Damien, with less experience than Lulu, became the head of the editorial department, relegating Lulu to deputy head. Lulu's judgment in assessing people was evidently lacking.
Alyssa speculated that had Lulu been in charge, promising authors would have faltered and the struggling ones would have faced even tougher times. ScribeSphere might have depended solely on a few renowned authors, pushing the platform to the brink of collapse.
The promotion of Damien to department head had infuriated Lulu, especially given their closely matched credentials. The competition between the two was fierce. Later, after Alyssa left, Brandon Su was shifted under Damien's guidance. This move irked Lulu, and her hostility towards Alyssa shifted onto Damien. Brandon Su's hiatus from updating was a relief for her, but upon his return, old issues resurfaced, making Lulu green with envy.
To speed up Brandon Su's updates, the website reassigned all of Damien's newbie authors to other editors, with the newest, Michelle Xia, ending up under Lulu. Lulu wasn't pleased. These newly signed authors had no works, no readers, and no popularity—meaning no subscriptions, and thus, no commission for the editor. Lulu was uninterested in mentoring newbies. She favored established, obedient authors with large followings—they were guaranteed income.
Alyssa could guess Lulu's thoughts, "Damien, you're bold enough to dump a rookie author on me, but not bold enough to hand over Brandon Su?"
Lulu's reluctance to mentor newcomers, combined with her unending desire for Brandon Su, reflected poorly on Michelle.
It had to be said, Lulu, as an editor, didn't seem the brightest. No wonder her peak was only as a deputy head.
Seeing Lulu dismiss Michelle's story as worthless, Alyssa couldn't hold back. Furiously typing, she let loose a barrage of words. While Michelle, the person at the center of it all, remained relatively calm, Alyssa was fuming.
Michelle: "..."
Michelle: "Did you have a past conflict with Lulu?"
Alyssa sat in disbelief, "I know I've had issues with her in the past, but she's genuinely crossed the line!"
Upon reading Lulu's words, Alyssa was somewhat dazed, even contemplating a return to ScribeSphere as an editor just for Michelle.
Alyssa, always attuned to the currents of various online platforms, was aware of the editors at ScribeSphere. Many of them were newbies, and she only recognized a few old colleagues – Damien, Lulu, Peach, and Cola.
She weighed her options between Peach and Cola and inquired, "Michelle, I still have two colleagues at ScribeSphere. Do you want to switch to one of their teams?"
Michelle replied with surprise, "Wouldn't it be a bit exaggerated for a new author like me, with no published works, to go through three editors?"
"Actually," Alyssa pondered, "if it draws the platform's attention, we could expose Lulu's despicable tactics. Two birds, one stone."
Michelle hesitated, "...It seems you really have a score to settle with her."
"So, do you want to switch editors? I can have a chat with my old colleagues," Alyssa offered.
"Would it be a bother?"
"It'd be much simpler than struggling under Lulu."
"Alright then. If it can be done, please make the arrangements. If it can't be, I guess I'll just spend some money to make it right."
"Just wait for my update," Alyssa responded.
Lately, with Alyssa being so kind to her, Michelle felt uneasy. Part of her apprehension stemmed from the fear that Alyssa might have ulterior motives. Still, a significant part arose from the guilt of receiving kindness without a way to reciprocate. Whenever someone treated her unconditionally well, Michelle would feel restless.
She remembered feeling similarly uneasy when Alex Ye had helped her with academic matters. She always felt the need to reciprocate.
Hoping to express her gratitude, Michelle invited Alyssa for a meal and planned to present her with a gift. However, Alyssa declined, jokingly stating her "plastic surgery had gone wrong, and she's not fit for public view."
Michelle persisted, "Then, can I have your address? I'll send you some tasty treats."
"You always want to meet or get my address; I'm starting to think you have ulterior motives," Alyssa teased.
Michelle sighed, "Alright."
For the first time, Michelle encountered someone as guarded as herself, which left her feeling a mix of emotions.
Considering all that Alyssa had done for her, Michelle transferred some money as a token of appreciation, urging Alyssa to treat herself.
To which Alyssa replied in mock horror, "Do you think I don't know that transferring 2000 can get me in trouble?"
Michelle was left speechless. The irony wasn't lost on her; she'd been so guarded with others in the past, and now she was on the receiving end of similar suspicion.
Alyssa stared at the transferred amount of 1999.99 and accepted it after some contemplation. She felt that since she had genuinely helped Michelle, taking a small fee for her services was reasonable.
Being a secondary agent in her workshop, Alyssa had some resources at her disposal. She intended to use the money to boost Michelle's online stats by hiring some internet mercenaries.
Reaching out to her old colleague, Cola, Alyssa spoke highly of Michelle, comparing her to ScribeSphere's next Brandon Su. She made it clear that Cola would regret not taking Michelle under her wing.
Due to Alyssa's amiable nature and good rapport with her colleagues, Cola eventually agreed.
Michelle submitted her request on the platform, which was approved by the editorial department head and her new editor. However, her request to change editors ultimately landed with Lulu, who rejected it.